Feelings Pong

Feelings pong is a fun game to play and easy to set up – all you need is a table some cups and ping-pong ball. It is another great activity to use with the Super Simple Feelings Management Technique to help kids and teens to better understand and deal with the emotions they face.

Here’s what you need:

Plastic cups (9, 13, 18 or 24 cups work best for a pyramid). We used multi-colored cups so each color represented a group of emotions but that isn’t necessary for the game.

Ping-Pong balls.

Permanent Marker.

Here’s how it works.

Write the names of different emotions on the bottom of each cup.

Set up the cups (right-side-up) on one end of a table in a pyramid shape.

Have the player stand at the other end of the table.

Try to bounce the ping-pong balls into one of the cups.

When the ball lands in one of the cups, turn it over see what emotion it is.

Have the child act out the emotion or talk about a time they experienced it.

I enjoy demonstrating Feelings Pong when I speak at conferences because you get to see which of the attendees is “a little too good” 🙂 at it!

Wayne is the founder and executive director of Hope 4 Hurting Kids. He is a happily married father of four kids with a passion for helping young people who are going through rough times. In addition to Hope 4 Hurting Kids, Wayne previously started I Am A Child of Divorce and Divorce Ministry 4 Kids to help kids who are dealing with the disruption of their parents’ relationship. These are now part of Hope 4 Hurting Kids. Wayne speaks frequently at conferences and churches on issues related to helping kids learn to deal with difficult emotions and life in modern families.

Wayne lives with his wife, three youngest kids, three dogs and an insane collection of his kids’ other pets outside of Columbus, Ohio. In addition to his work with Hope 4 Hurting Kids, Wayne is a partner in a local consulting firm, an avid reader, coaches his son’s soccer team and is a proud supporter of Leicester City Football Club (and yes, for those in know, his affinity for the club does predate the 2016 championship).